Chapter 94

The young man before them had a dark and plain face, his hair tied in a single bun with a headband. He wore a knee-length sky blue Daoist robe, looking every bit like an ordinary disciple of the Shangxuan Sect. If not for his gentle and clear voice when he spoke, one would never have associated him with the pretty and lively young disciple under Qingying.

Zhou Yin's eyes flashed slightly, "Rejuvenation Pill?"

Wan Qingqing nodded, her face filled with anxious nervousness, "Yes, Zhou-shishu, how perceptive. I never expected both of you Senior Uncles to be here, how fortunate. I came under the pretext of delivering something, so I can't stay long. Please forgive me."

"What happened?" Yun Zong could tell from her tone that it was no simple matter, otherwise she would not have disguised herself to infiltrate Qingyan's side and passed a secret signal to Zhou Yin, even risking danger to come here.

"A major event!" Wan Qingqing smiled bitterly, "When I returned to report as instructed by the Master, I happened to encounter two disciples sent out by Qingyan-shishu at the foot of the mountain. Only then did I learn they were sent to collect and destroy cultivation manuals. I felt something was amiss at the time. Why would the Sect Leader suddenly want to destroy the manuals out of the blue?"

It must be said, Wan Qingqing's vigilance was quite strong. As soon as she sensed something was off, she did not brazenly ascend the mountain.

Because Wan Qingqing had originally been promoted from an outer sect disciple, she still had a few good friends in the outer sect. With their help, she first disguised herself, changing her appearance, then pretended to be an outer sect disciple of Shangxuan Sect.

Only then did she quietly slip in and get assigned under Qingying-shishu of Yuheng Peak.

She endured the desire to reunite with her Master and fellow disciples, only daring to observe from afar each day. Relying on her intuition, she carefully observed and noticed many unusual things.

Wan Qingqing discovered that although Master Qingying was still the Peak Lord of Yuheng Peak, in reality her authority had already been half stripped away. It was just that after the Master returned, she was preoccupied with worrying about Sect Leader Qinghe's matter on one hand, and visiting Senior Uncle Qiu of Tianquan Peak in the dungeon on the other, so she had not noticed for the time being.

Among the seven Peak Lords, besides her Master, one was in seclusion, one away, one deceased, one imprisoned, one cultivating all day. The only one remaining was Venerable Qingyan who was currently acting as the Sect Leader. As for the six elders who dwelled in seclusion, they were not ones her current identity could come into contact with.

At first glance, the internal structure of Shangxuan Sect now seemed to be in disarray, with the demon beast and death of Qingxuan as the fuse. But thinking carefully, even her Master's authority had been stripped.

Could it be that Venerable Qingyan, as the acting Sect Leader, had not noticed at all? If he had noticed, why was there not the slightest reaction?

These thoughts made her feel shocked and terrified, not knowing who to confide in, nor who could still be trusted within Shangxuan Sect. Just as she was worrying day after day, she heard the news of Yun Zong and Zhou Yin's return.

Wan Qingqing was overjoyed. Perhaps others could not be trusted, but these two Senior Uncles had been personally dispatched by Sect Leader Qinghe, and their conduct along the way was well-known to all.

Even if someone within Shangxuan Sect had issues, it would not be them. She was anxious and eager to see the two, to quickly share all her doubts with them. Keeping all these secrets to herself, unable to see the light of day, was truly too painful.

Her mind made up, the next issue was how to meet with Yun Zong and the others, but this was actually not simple either.

Firstly, she was in Yuheng Peak, with the status of an outer sect disciple. Her position was not high enough to wander around freely. If she offended any senior or high-level cultivator, it would be enough for her to get into trouble. Although the rules of Shangxuan Sect seemed more relaxed than Tianyan Sect, they were extremely strict regarding hierarchy and respect.

Secondly, Yuheng Peak was very far from Tianshu Peak. Where there were people, there might be spies. Her cultivation was very low, so she could easily expose herself if she was not careful. If that happened and the enemy was alerted, the consequences would be even more severe.

Because of these considerations, Wan Qingqing did not dare to act rashly and could only suppress her impatience and wait for an opportunity.

As fate would have it, right at this time, the acting Sect Leader Qingyan wanted to select a few clever disciples from the outer sect to assign to Yun Zong and Zhou Yin. Upon learning this news, Wan Qingqing was very happy. She asked her good friend managing affairs in the outer sect to recommend her.

She originally thought this assignment was almost guaranteed, allowing her to be rightfully transferred to either of their sides. Who would have thought that Qingyan Zhenren said he also needed two attendants by his side and specifically requested for her.

Wan Qingqing felt like a mute person eating bitter melon, unable to express her bitterness. With Qingyan's cultivation level, a lofty Nascent Soul cultivator, how could she, a mere Qi Refining disciple, dare to flit about in front of him? Undoubtedly, her little trick of disguise was completely inadequate in the eyes of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

There was currently no evidence indicating that all of this was related to Qingyan Zhenren. If she found an excuse not to go, it would certainly raise more suspicion and might even implicate her friend in the outer sect. Left with no choice, she could only study the strange happenings for a long time, striving to keep a low profile, then steeled herself and went.

Perhaps it was her good fortune or Qingyan being too busy, but after arriving at Tianji Peak, for many days in a row, she did not receive a personal summons from Qingyan. Naturally, her identity was not exposed.

Feeling relieved, Wan Qingqing's desire to see Yun Zong and the others was not extinguished. On the other hand, she still had to worry about the situation on Qingying's side. Needless to say, her state of mind was extremely chaotic and terrible.

Finally one day, a disciple under Qingyan instructed them to collect the Ziwei Sword and spirit stones and deliver them to the front hall.

Upon seeing Zhou Yin, Wan Qingqing was very excited. With great difficulty, she remembered her identity and suppressed her agitated emotions. Trembling, she presented the Ziwei Sword to Zhou Yin. Thinking that she might not have another chance to meet Zhou Yin afterwards, she could not help herself and once again wrote on Zhou Yin's palm, as she had done before.

Afterwards, she found an opportunity to take over the task of another attendant and came here on the pretext of delivering spirit stones.

After hearing Wan Qingqing's words, Zhou Yin narrowed his eyes and did not speak.

Unlike his reticence, Yun Zong immediately raised his own question, "When you wrote in front of Qingyan, was he in front of you or behind you?"

Wan Qingqing thought for a moment, "It seems he was in front, but he happened to turn around at that moment."

Yun Zong said indifferently, "Even if he turned around, the sharpness of a Nascent Soul cultivator's spiritual sense is beyond your imagination. How could he possibly not have noticed your little movements?"

Wan Qingqing was stunned for a moment, then turned pale and said in a daze, "Then, then why did he not expose me?"

No matter how intelligent and astute she was, she was still just a young girl with shallow cultivation. It was already difficult for her to endure and hide for many days, so it was not surprising that she would act impulsively when her emotions were stirred.

Yun Zong didn't say anything more. Besides Qingyan, no one knew the answer to this question.

Perhaps Qingyan was under someone's coercion and needed Wan Qingqing to deliver a message, or perhaps...

The silence flowed heavily between the three of them, so quiet it was frightening. Wan Qingqing was sweating profusely but didn't dare wipe it away, her heart pounding as she looked to the two of them for help, both for the consequences of this matter and for her own life.

The furball yawned on Zhou Yin's knee, wriggled its body, and continued to doze.

In any case, dear Ah Yin didn't let him intervene. He was too lazy to rack his brains.

Whether it was the upper realm, humans, or demon beasts, as long as intelligence developed to a certain level, they always liked to play these games of intrigue. When Pangu opened up the sky and Nüwa created humans, did they ever think about today?

Zhou Yin finally spoke, "Who did you write for us to save?"

The silence was broken.

Wan Qingqing subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, "This disciple was rash and had secretly investigated. I heard that since Sect Leader Qinghe was injured and went into seclusion, he never came out again. A few days ago, the Master wanted to visit but couldn't get in."

She wasn't muddled. Right now, Qingying's safety wasn't the most important thing. The most important was Qinghe. As long as he was okay, naturally everyone else would be fine too.

She paused, then said timidly, "Could it be that the sect leader, could he...?"

What could it be? She didn't continue. Everyone present understood.

Yun Zong said slowly, "The only thing we can do now is to go in and see Master first before deciding anything else."

At the very least, they had to ascertain whether his master was alive or dead before deciding what to do next. Otherwise, with just the two of them, there was no way they could turn the situation around. Moreover, Yun Zong had the thought of not implicating Zhou Yin if he could avoid it.

Wan Qingqing suddenly felt her mouth go dry. She knew without being told how difficult it would be to go see Qinghe in person. Although it was at Tianqu Peak, there might still be eyes around, not to mention the formations and restrictions outside...

She suddenly looked up at the sky outside, her face changing. "I have to go!"

Yun Zong said, "You don't need to be involved in this matter anymore. Just keep yourself safe."

Wan Qingqing nodded. With these two here, a lot of her pressure was relieved. After saying farewell, she hurriedly left.

Zhou Yin suddenly asked, "Is there anything in Shangxuan Sect that only the sect leader can open, or rather, that only the sect leader has?"

Yun Zong didn't know what he meant by asking, but pondered, "The sect leader's seal."

After some thought, he frowned slightly. "Perhaps there are things I don't know about."

Although Qinghe had intended to groom Yun Zong as his successor, Yun Zong was obsessed with cultivation and never had any intention of taking over, so he rarely participated in daily affairs.

Zhou Yin said indifferently, "Where is the place of seclusion?"

Yun Zong replied, "In a pill room of the Zide Hall in Lingshou Hall. I went to take a look. Outside, there are several layers of formations protecting it. It's not easy to get in."

Zhou Yin said calmly, "Even if it's not easy, we must enter."